NEW YORK – Bethany Fagan emerged from the Atlantic Avenue subway station in Brooklyn on Thursday and was greeted by a transit worker with a megaphone directing people to the line for buses to Manhattan.

Unfortunately for Fagan, there were hundreds of people already in the line, which wrapped around the new Barclays Center arena.

“This is crazy,” she said. “I have never experienced something like this.”

Fagan was headed toward Herald Square, in midtown Manhattan, where she was hoping to check on friends who remained without power.

Chaotic travel was part of a day of transition for New York City, caught between Hurricane Sandy-induced paralysis and longed-for normalcy. The three major airports opened, but the schools remained closed. Some of the subway lines were working, but buses and walking were more the order of the day. About 200,000 Con Edison customers had power restored, but many were still relying on candles.

The death toll from the superstorm climbed to 38 in the city, and at least 90 nationally.

Though the city appeared to be making some progress toward recovery, it was clear that cleaning up after the superstorm is going to take months, as nearly 20,000 people remain stranded in their homes because of flooded streets and limited transportation. Gasoline was scarce, with many stations closed and long lines spilling onto the roads near those that opened.

People also have struggled to get their medications, as most pharmacies without power have remained closed.

Direct Relief International, a nonprofit agency that focuses on improving the quality of medicine, has an interactive map on its website www.directrelief.org that is updating which pharmacies are open.

Fagan moved to the city thinking she was escaping natural disasters, especially hurricanes. The 22-year-old lived in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and said she never imagined anything like that could happen in New York City.

Christopher Matt, also waiting in line outside the Barclays Center, was trying to get to midtown, where he works. Matt, also from Louisiana, said, “Oh man, I just move here and this happens.”

Matt said his company, Phoenix Energy, did not expect its workers to come in Thursday, but since he had just started work, and the office was open, he said he wanted to at least make an appearance.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that at least 534,000 customers remained without power citywide. Of those, 228,000 are in Manhattan and 43,000 are in the Rockaways. Con Edison said in a statement Thursday that lower and midtown Manhattan will be back up and running with power by Saturday night. But for parts of the city served by overhead power lines, it will take at least until the end of next week to get power restored.